For this review, I will be showcasing one of my favorite characters from Sword Art Online / SAO! She comes from the second season, during the "Gun Gale Online" / "GGO" game and "Phantom Bullet" story arc.
From the very popular TV anime series, "Sword Art Online II", this is Figma Sinon:
(Each photo can be clicked on to give a full-size view of the image, even if the image itself doesn't display).
Here's her in the box:
Released as #241 in the Figma line series, Sinon is just one of the figures released so far from the Sword Art Online series in the Figma line (Kirito and Asuna also have releases). That being said, Sinon has proven to be very popular, getting numerous releases including (but not limited to) a Dollfie figure, a Real Action Heroes version, and numerous static pose figures as well.
For those who don't already know (minor spoilers) Sinon is the digital counterpart of Asada Shino, a girl in the real world who has a deep fear of guns (ironically).
To be honest, I really liked the older style Figma boxes, as they really felt individualized, instead of just figures in a toy line. The front of the box just feels too empty...like they could have put a small close-up image of Sinon's face in the big blank black area in the bottom right corner or something. Also there is a sticker for GENCO on the front...not sure if that's just because this was for an American customer or if every box gets that sticker.
Back of the box:
One thing that is really done with Japanese anime figure boxes (generally) is great usage of space and using all parts of the box. This pertains to not just the back of the box, but the whole box in general; as all sides of the box (even the inside flaps) have something on them.
The back of Sinon's box continues this by following the new standardized professional/clean design for Figma figures; making for an easy-to-view setup with plenty of images showing the various poses for Sinon to be in and accessories for her to use, including her signature PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II, her large sniper rifle from which she got her nickname "Hecate".
All of her parts:
Sinon comes with a fair number of parts. She comes with two plastic holders; one for her Hecate rifle and it's parts, and one for the rest of the parts. Here's the list:
View spoiler-- Sinon herself
-- Hecate rifle
-- Handgun with blast accessory
-- Alternate rifle stock
-- Alternate rifle bi-pod
-- 2 alternate facial expressions
-- 8 sets of extra hands (2 partially closed fists (for holding a gun), 2 open hands, 2 partially closed fists (for holding the rifle barrel), 1 semi-closed left hand and 1 pointing fingered right hand)
-- Alternate head, back side only with neck joint
-- 1 Figma stand with extension
-- Parts bag
-- Instructions
Instructions:
I'm not sure when this started (with which figure), but recently Good Smile Company has decided to include the instructions for Figmas in both English and Japanese. They are the same on each side; just one side with one language and vice-versa.
The English instructions help a lot for those who don't read Japanese and only read English...even though it ironically says "FOR SALE IN JAPAN ONLY" on the back of the box (in English).
Her instructions show the figure's parts as well as how to change out the parts on her rifle (stock, strap, and bi-pod), how to change out her alternate rear hair portion, and attaching the fire blast to the handgun.
Out of the package:
She comes ready to go out of the box once the plastic protectors are removed from shipping in the plastic core. She has her closed fists and expressionless, normal face in place.
Sinon has an extra accessory that adds two more joints to her: a scarf. The scarf has two long extensions on the back side, with ball joints where it attaches to the ring around her neck. Other than that she has all the normal joints of a Figma 2.0 figure.
Removable Scarf:
Sinon's scarf accessory is actually fully removable. It comes off by simply taking off her head and pulling it off over the neck joint. The scarf is pretty loose as well; easily swiveling in place and tilting slightly while on her.
However, once removed, Sinon's neck is fully shown. She does seem to have a slightly longer neck than most Figma's, but that might be because of the scarf accessory or the fact that she has doesn't have much of a collar underneath the scarf to cover the neck.
Her scarf can be handheld as well, using the slightly closed left hand accessory. This is the only clothing part that comes off, however. The jacket is partially disconnected from her body in certain areas, but doesn't fully come off as it is attached to her in other areas. Same holds true for the belt and leg / hip flaps.
With handgun:
Putting her scarf back on and looking at her from the back, it is easy to see where the scarf's joints are and how they move. They can be moved in virtually any direction or into any position; limited only by the mold itself and her body being in the way.
She also has another feature only visible from the back: A rear holster. This is mounted onto her belt, and is designed to hold her small handgun. As shown in the picture, her open hand can be used to make it look like she's reaching back for her gun, ready to pull it out and use it.
Also her Figma stand peg plugs into a hole slightly under her jacket, on her back. It's hidden by her scarf in the photo, but this photo shows that she can actually stand fairly easily even without the support of her Figma stand.
With gun drawn:
Once her gun is drawn, Sinon can hold it in either hand. Oddly, the holster is on her left side, which makes it hard to draw with her right hand.
The gun has an extra long handle, showing the exposed clip in the butt of it. I'm not sure if this is show-accurate, as it looks too long...it looks like the clip should be pushed all the way into the grip and not exposed like it is.
Sinon has excellent arm articulation, though. Her arm can be brought fully across her chest, allowing her to simulate cocking the gun with her slightly closed left hand accessory. It should be noted that her face can be put either in front of or behind the scarf as well; either covering up or exposing her chin, as well (but it almost always looks better behind the scarf slightly).
Firing the gun:
Adding the muzzle flash to the gun makes it look like Sinon is firing it, and it looks really good! The fire blast has only one way to attach, with the hole on the backside of it shaped exactly like the barrel of the handgun. She also holds the gun with one of her hand types, the one specifically shaped to have a separated trigger finger. The gun easily slides into this hand with no trouble whatsoever.
From the front it's easy to see how well the fire blast works as a muzzle flash for her hand gun. Also shown in the 2nd picture is how well her scarf flaps work even extended fully to the sides; holding their position. In fact all of the joints are tight on Sinon, including her leg joints and the Figma stand's joints; allowing her more dynamic poses like jumping and leaping into the air (more reminiscent of her action sequences in the anime).
The other thing shown in this 2nd picture is the 2nd face option for Sinon: An angry expression with a bit of a scowl and her teeth showing; great for attack poses and when she gets angry.
With sniper rifle:
Of course she comes with one other weapon, her signature rare .50 caliber PGM Ultima Ratio Hecate II sniper rifle. The Hecate II can be held in a number of ways, surprisingly. One of the ways is shown here, in her right hand with the closed hand accessory. This is designed just for this, as it is circular in shape (inside the hand) and this is the only piece that fits inside there.
However it can be somewhat tricky to get the gun inside her hand: The hand is pretty tight, and you have to wedge the gun's barrel between her fingers and thumb and rotate it in behind her fingers carefully.
She also comes with one final face, the side glance. This is actually the cutest expression for her (IMHO) and it looks somewhat smug and confident at the same time. Also, even with her handgun in the holster, it's hard to see it from the front.
One thing to notice is the position of the stock on the rifle: While not looking odd now, it will later...
Alternate holding position:
While Sinon is capable of holding the rifle with one hand (given the right position), it's pretty impractical as the rifle is actually quite large and probably heavy. So, she can support the barrel with her other slightly closed fist, the left one.
The strap is another nice feature, as it adds additional support around her neck and shoulder. It's made of a softer plastic, but not too soft: It's still rigid enough to hold it's shape and not bend excessively. The only downside to the strap is that it is really difficult to attach to the gun and keep attached while trying to pose/position the gun in her hands. It tends to pop off pretty easily if not fully pushed onto the pegs...and with the pegs being really, really small and flat; it's very hard to get it on right.
With both weapons:
While Sinon is fully capable of holding both guns at the same time in both hands; again it's impractical as it would be near impossible to fire both weapons simultaneously with any degree of accuracy. So, it's best to just have one weapon held at a time.
Both guns can be held in either hand; shown this time by holding her handgun in her left hand. The left hand actually makes more sense, as her holster is on her left side...but she's right handed, so it makes it confusing.
The strap for the rifle is pretty strong, despite the fact that it pops off easily. With the help of the scarf, it can be held vertically behind her without even touching her at all. The bi-pod on the rifle can actually attach either way (folded up or down), but folded back is the proper way.
In sniper position:
As shown numerous times in the anime, Sinon is a very skilled sniper. Therefore, a sniper position was necessary for the Figma figure of her. But that also means that several changes need to be made to her figure in order to do so.
First of all, her hair needs to be swapped out. There was an accessory included with the figure that I thought was accidentally turned around when I saw it in the box...but it turned out to be the back side of her head. It's a shorter hair style at the bottom; allowing the head to fully go up and letting her lay flat on the ground and still look straight ahead.
The other changes involve her rifle. For this, the strap is best removed and placed off to the side as it tends to get in the way too much. The bi-pod part at the front of the gun pops off and is replaced by the extended bipod instead; allowing her to keep the gun raised off of the ground and adding additional support to her rifle's stability.
The last change involves the stock. Remember how I mentioned the length of the stock before? Well, for some reason, when the stock's extension is lowered; the stock actually has to be swapped out with a shorter stock. For some unknown reason, the rifle's stock gets shorter when the extension is lowered...something that doesn't seem right from a solid stock mounted onto a rifle; but nevertheless is the case (and that is how the instructions show it as well, and the only way it can be mounted due to the peg holes inside the stock of the rifle).
Looking at it from this side makes it look perfect, like the gun has a really good alignment with her eye at the scope, but in reality...
...it's more of an illusion created by the pose itself, and from looking at it from the left side (the side the gun is on). While it can be technically put on either side, Sinon is right handed and so, once again, it makes more sense to be on the right side.
It's actually really hard to get the sniper rifle aligned right. While Sinon's head can tilt enough to look down the barrel of the rifle, her hair gets in the way and prevents her from doing it (unless you put the hair on the other side):
Of course that makes it look odd and puts a little stress on her hair (the hair hanging down on the side of her face), but it gets the job done. It's also hard to get her left hand under the rifle butt, to hold it and add stability...but it can be done. Same applies to keeping the rifle stock against her shoulder while still keeping her looking down the rifle's scope. It's very tricky to do, but looks amazing once finally accomplished properly!
Posing/Butt cleavage:
Well, this had to be mentioned: Sinon has butt cleavage. Why? Because it was actually shown quite a lot in the anime; even noticed by Kirito at one point while they were hiding in a cave together.
She has pretty low riding shorts, and this shows off her butt quite a bit. However there's not as much butt cleavage as one would expect...her butt only goes down a little way; basically just below the belt line. So lowering her shorts any further than I have in the picture would expose the open areas inside the figure itself and the leg joints.
Still Sinon has great joint mobility, allowing her legs to even go sideways like this. And with the side glance face, it makes for a really cute pose; perfectly showing off her famous (or infamous, depending upon your viewpoint) butt cleavage.
Overall:
Great quality, excellent sculpting and virtually limitless range of motion...this is a great example of what the new Figma 2.0 figures are striving for. While Sinon doesn't have a ton of accessories; the ones she comes with are true to her character from the anime. She has ton of articulation and looks great too.
The only real problems with her is the rifle. If the rifle's strap had slightly bigger pegs or could attach better, and if the sniper position was easier to achieve properly; it would be a perfect figure all around.
Recommended for everyone. Virtually unlimited display and play value.
Thanks for looking! Feel free to comment and I hope you enjoy the review! Please check out my other reviews here: profiles.php?us...
ncG1vNJzZmilqZu2qMHRnpqopJyasLW1zqdlp52kZK%2Btu8ZoaWpoYms%3D